Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream
by Hannah Lynn McDonald
Summary: Westen finds karg in the room.


_February 25, 2005_

* * *

The world was dark and heavy around him and he struggled to breathe. He felt as if he was drowning or buried, and he felt as if he was seconds away from panicking. Seemingly distant memories of agony and terror pressed in on him, and he struggled out from beneath the duvet spread over him. Dragging in a ragged breath, and flinching away from the dark man clearing the room.

He let his eyes fall shut as the gun was trained on him. "Please. Kill me now."

The man made no reply, stepping towards the bed.

He jerked away and the man stopped. "You have done enough – please." He knew that he was almost begging for death but he couldn't bring himself to stop. They had taken what they wanted, and yet he was still alive. He held out no hope for mercy – and yet felt that he should – and only wanted it to be over. He hurt to much to think of the alternative.

The man stepped forward again, reaching forward to pull the duvet back.

He was shaking again, and he cursed the last day. The gun hadn't wavered, and he pulled as far away as he could from the man without falling off the bed.

"What happened?"

He startled at the sudden noise, grimacing as he jostled the hand that was cradled atop his chest. "I do not know. I was to be killed, ja? And I am alive. I do not know."

"What's your name?"

Sound was becoming muted, and he blinked at the man for a moment. "...Willem Karg."

"Who was here, Karg?"

He was shaking apart again and he didn't know what they wanted this time."I – please..."

The man looked around the room again, holstering his gun as an afterthought.

Willem relaxed slightly, but couldn't breathe right. His uninjured hand came up involuntarily, and he let his eyes fall closed – unwilling to see what would come for him next.

Footsteps left the room, and everything faded away.

He was still surprised – perhaps more so – to open his eyes again. It was easier to breathe and it was lighter, but there had been a man there to kill him. Again. And yet he was still alive.

He was tired. He wanted it to be over with.

"You're awake."

He sucked in a breathe and jerked away from the voice, wishing he could stop overreacting.

"Hey. Calm down. I'm not going to kill you."

"What else do you need? I cannot resist, ja?"

"I was after the person that did that to you – Espinoza."

"There were many people. Too many. They were not supposed to be there. We had a-" His chest seized up and he curled up beneath the coverlet.

"You had a hit taken out on you and you should be dead."

"It was a birthday present..."

"Your death?"

"My partner – Matteo..." His next breath of air sounded more like a sob.

The man stood and stepped closer to the bed.

He pulled away but then relaxed, uncaring. "Finish it, ja? It is enough."

The man watched him for a moment. "Today's your lucky day – you get to live. But you probably want to live longer so I'm going to get you out of here too."

Willem frowned in confusion and pushed himself up slightly.

The man turned and picked a syringe up from the top of the reorganised medical kit that was sitting on the table behind him. "You will wake up again, I can promise you that." He turned back to Willem. "I'm Michael Westen."

Willem relaxed with a sudden chuckle, almost hysterical.

The man's smile was dark and wry: "Yes. That one."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know – a Willem Karg. Figure out who he is and why she killed him. We might be able to track her down still."

"He's not going to walk away from this."

"Willem Karg probably won't, but I want you to help him. There's something about him..."

"He's a criminal."

"Probably."

"He probably deserved to die."

"I probably do too."

"...this is going to come back to bite you, Mike."

"I'll be back for him.

* * *

 _AN: Alright! So. The AU of Willem Karg's plotline. Basically: Michael Weston from_ Burn Notice _was hunting Miss Espinoza (the girl that Sydney was pretending to be and so was sent to kill Willem) but found Willem in the room before. This is about two days after the incident so before he recovers enough to leave and be found by Liliya. I didn't like_ Burn Notice _and so am probably writing him horribly but... I read. Mike doesn't walk Willem through his recovery, but he checks in a lot and they become friends. So I'm also explaining Roger Steele's background too! Because why not..._ _4-11-2016_


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